Marc Cohn revisits 1970

Music is a constantly changing creative force in the world. No one knows that better than Marc Cohn.

The Grammy Award winner writes songs that whirl throughout your soul and tap into your heart.

He is the wordsmith that pens lyrics swirling in your head, but somehow never reaches your lips. He is the canny lyricist that seems to know exactly what you feel.

In the last 14 years, he’s taken a couple of long recording sabbaticals, a move many professional musicians consider a potential career-killer. The last one was a seven-year break between studio work for Burning the Daze (1998) and Marc Cohn Live 04/05 (2005).

“It was not a great career move, but it was necessary for my well-being,” said Cohn who is dealing with several personal struggles.

Today he is grappling with a divorce to ABC anchor Elizabeth Vargas and recently experienced health issues including back surgery.

But despite personal setbacks, the New York resident has emerged from a dry spell and is writing songs for a new album.

“Writing happens cyclically. There’s a time when you’re living life and then there’s a time when you’re writing about a way of life. Now is the time to write. It’s coming in an organic way. I could force myself to write songs, but if it doesn’t resonate for me, it won’t resonate for anyone else.”

The natural born storyteller is touring more and performing at the Arden Theatre on Tuesday, Jan. 27 to promote Listening Booth: 1970 (2010), his last album.

Listening Booth is a flashback to his tween years, a time music made a profound impression and changed the direction of his life.

For 11-year-old Marc Cohn, 1970 was a pivotal time in his youth. Listening to the radio, he was enraptured by a string of Top 40 hits that passed the test of time to become classics.

“It was a seminal year for songs. The Beatles broke up in 1970 and Simon and Garfunkel were breaking up. Elton John put out his first single. James Taylor made a breakthrough with Fire and Rain, and Van Morrison released Moon Dance. I happen to think the best of the best music came out that year.”

Stepping into the studio with long-time producer and good friend John Leventhal, the duo decided to record only songs from that year.

“I completely loved the idea of focusing on one year and redoing songs from that year. It’s one of my favourite albums. I’m very proud of it, and I like the interpretations we did.”

Among the Top 40 hits he chose were Smokey Robinson’s Tears of a Clown, Paul Simon’s The Only Living Boy in New York, John Lennon’s Look at Me, Van Morrison’s Into the Mystic and Cat Stevens’ Wild World.

Most singers recording covers usually remain faithful to the original or radically alter the interpretation. Cohn takes a different path.

He delves into the soul of songs and filters them through his vocals. The result is a comfortable, intimate sound that reveals how much respect went into the project.

Most critics posted positive reviews. One unnamed amateur blogger posted, “I was the same age as Marc when I heard these songs. God bless him for being able to document his artistic tipping point and having the resources to do this. This is very good.”

But Cohn is not standing still. He just released The Coldest Corner of the World, his first original single in seven years. It was commissioned for the documentary Tree Man, a look at a Canadian Christmas tree salesman that sells conifers in New York.

With a new set of changes in his personal life, Cohn’s writing is on a more fruitful upswing. Lately he has spent weeks crafting poetic lyrics and is more open to collaborating with tunesmiths on the music.

“I’ve been more willing to hand over finished lyrics to other writers and have them write the music. I want to let the words live and I’ve come to understand I have a limited understanding of harmonic elements of music.”

Guitarist Jeff Pevar and keyboardist Glenn Patscha, both top-tier players, will provide support at the Arden concert.